Life is What's Happening When Your Busy Making Plans:

While watching the Blues Brothers(well, mostly listening)I put together this:
with a little help from Michael. He said that if I could put together Legos from the photo directions I could do this too! This table was a compromise to something I had in mind for michael to build. He noticed it in the Ikea showroom and I think he made a great find. I like the look and function of this piece. It's price tag also saved us on the order of $500.00.

For Chef Michael we picked up this:
This should be quite useful for Michael's creative cooking needs and will move out of the way and not take up too much room.

:::::::HOUSE Renovation update:::::::::
Michael and I are sleep deprived and my dad is close to overdosing on Ibuprophen for his aches and pains. Ahhh! The joy of renovating. Michael has finished laying the kitchen floor and put together about 1/2 of 3 cabinets. We have a contract for a new garage door and opener, the gutter guy is coming to give an estimate tomorrow. I discovered that the previous owners didn't use a primer before putting the wallpaper up, so my one day job of stripping wallpaper will probably be 2 more for stripping the paper, then putting a new skim coat. Followed by primer and paint. When Michael pulled off the old cabinets we discovered a large gap in the ceiling that we will have to repair and we will have to replace the sheet rock where they did some nasty mastic and laminate.
My dad yanked out the ceiling in the master bedroom, which I was able to dispose of before the rain came today. He rebraced it for a double tray ceiling. He has to re-run the ductwork and electricity, then put up the sheet rock. Maybe on Monday or Tuesday I will be up there putting in the wood flooring. Michael showed me how to stagger the seams, glue the edge and use the table saw. Eve actually likes piecing the floor, so I bet she would be a great helper.

All Things Are Possible, Pass the Word!

Lisa Whitney's Beautiful Mess kit, and Linda GB's Star Bazar Kit, Font: Typeset/Teacher Kim

Disco Floor and the Tardis!

I have yet to see elation equalled to that exhibited by my children as we pulled up the linoleum to discover the original disco floor. Eve and Noah jumped and screamed for joy when they saw the floor. When Aaron and Rachel came in after playing with some of the neighbor kids Rachel said the floor was soooo cool! We disappointed all of the children by letting them know we were replacing the floor with an engineered Red Oak. She asked if we could put it in as the floor to her room. When we said that was not possible she went to her room and cried! (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! What is the world coming to?!?)




Here is Eve helping Michael with the flooring process:




We have been so blessed with family and friends willing to help. My dad popped in on Saturday morning and fixed the hole in the fascia and soffit. Michael and I were surprised he showed up because he had other projects and when we asked him why he came he replied, "I said, self, you need to go fix that hole. So, I came. I'm going home now. See ya later!"

Michael's brother, Reuben came over and brought his son, Gabriel. They helped deconstruct the top of the deck and pour new footers to place the new support beams. Since the cement needed to cure they came in and helped us start laying the floor in the entry and kitchen. They were both a lot of fun to have around. Gabriel also delivered some deer meat from his recent hunting expedition.

I've ordered some new appliances and I hope that we can pull everything together soon because we are hosting a couple's dinner in almost 2 weeks.

:::::::::::THE TARDIS SPOTTED:::::::::::::

in Tucker, Georgia. Michael drove us through a cute new subdivision with Craftsmen style homes to look at styles and house colors. Eve got really excited and called out, "Look! There's the Tardis!" We looked to where she was pointing to see a Port-O-Potty sitting in the center, big, rectangular, blue and with a door. We said that sure does look quite a bit like the Tardis, but don't let Dr. Who know that his lovely blue police box looks a bit like an American Loo!


Smiles!

Progress!

Aaron and Eve ran in the homeschool running Fun Run yesterday. Aaron ran 3/4 of a mile and Eve ran a 1/4 of a mile. We aren't an athletic family, so I was really happy with Aaron's time of 11.14. I ran with Eve to keep her going otherwise she wanders off to the playground. We ran 4:23. The kids all received ribbons with their times on the back.


::::::Siding:::::::

The siding is done except for some trim pieces. I need to finish caulking and then we can get the house painted.

We are going to start working on the kitchen this week, while my dad goes hunting for the rest of the week and off to help build something at his church. We are going to get the kitchen cabinets through IKEA. We opted for the Adel birch collection, so I will be pulling stuff out of cabinets, so we can get to the base cabinets and start the flooring.

I hope all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Another Quirky ATC:

This is a challenge I completed using Sandra Evertson's artwork. Here is a link to her designs:>Click me!




_{Cookie:Agnes Lahur's Life is Sweet
Many elements from Susan Long's Crimson Christmas,
doll legs from Scrap Artist doll freebie,
Sparkly Red Alpha Freebie from Julie Howard,
Michelle Coleman's glitter stocking freebie,
Christine Honsinger's Fiddlette's Fabulous Fleamarket,
Christmas tree, doodles, presents and crystals from Michelle Coleman's Sweet Evangeline,
Soldier from Mo Jackson's Oak Knoll,
Pram from Flickr,
Face and arm doodles from http://www.alteredsouls.com/free.htm
beard and wig from the web,
Egg from Mary Fran,
Santa hat by Robyn Gough,
metal slide from Lisa Dozier's Just Dreamy Kit.}


:::::::::::::::Progress?:::::::::::::::

My dad showed up again today and was able to do a 1/4 of the siding on the back of the house and when Michael got home he finished drilling the holes and putting in the carriage bolts to properly connect the upper deck to the house. (You might think the people we bought the house from who built the deck might have attached it properly, but you would be so WRONG!). No, I'm not bitter...REALLY! Anyhoo, there is progress. Michael and I have made the financial decision to forgo the 10 x 10 addition and put our efforts in making the square footage we have better. I hold out hope for the future that we can add-on when we have paid this loan off. No use in being greedy!

Slow and Unsteady:

On Michael's blog he has a great idea for a "non"-trivial pursuit game. Check it out. I think he really has something.

:::::::::::::::::Slow and Steady?::::::::::::

If slow and steady wins the race, what does slow and unsteady get you? It is taking forever to get the house finished. Each week has had about 2 days of rain and it is also deer season, so my dad likes to go hunting. Michael has to work to pay off the loan and work with 1 hour of remaining light when he gets home. I'm a glorified lumber totter (I caulk, too). This keeps any substantial progress from happening. The day was gorgeous yesterday, but that was the day my dad had his appointment for his crown. The new locks I bought are a pain to put in (from the obvious grouching of Michael trying for the umpteenth time to line up the mechanisms). I don't think all of the slow downs on this project have anything to do with the numerous times I've walked under the large ladder, but it does give me something nebulous to blame.


::::::::::::Teacher Conferences::::::::::::::

I had Noah's teacher conference on Monday and today I have Rachel's. Noah's went really well. The teacher said that Noah has a lot of things to say and that, to her happiness, it is about the current topic. If she is talking about Thanksgiving he isn't off on some tangent about Halloween. She said he is a little fact machine. She said he is just like a sponge for information. The teacher was happily surprised I could make comments on the papers and projects that Noah brings home. Some he points out to me and others I ask him about because I want to congratulate him or know if he enjoyed doing the project. His Reading Recovery teacher came in to the conference and showed me the progress Noah has been making on learning to hear letter sounds and then write them down. He has gone from zero to level 5 in 9 weeks. She is really proud of him, too. I continued to talk with her after the regular conference was over (she also lives in our neighborhood and is a completely wonderful lady). She showed me more about her dealings with Noah and told me some stories.

Rachel was thrilled to come home with a 100 on her math test (her first 100 on a math test this year). She received a homework pass for her success, but with her struggles with math I would prefer she recieve another perk. I think it is important she recieve as much concept reinforcement as she can.

::::::::::::::::::::::

Guess what?


My dad just showed up! There is a severe thunderstorm likely today. I opened the door and said, "You know the weather was really nice yesterday!" He told me to be quiet and open the garage door. You just never know!

I Love You Bunches!

Our son, Noah, was so happy to have his dad visit him at school.


_{Album name: Victoria / Sandra Boddington
Credits:: A Golden Afternoon Kit and Flower Brushes by Sandra Boddington at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Fonts:: Pottery Barn}

Snug as a bug

My new nephew, Spencer, swaddled on his dad's tummy.



_{A Golden Afternoon Kit by Sandra Boddington at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Fonts:: Cathy/Book Antiqua/Artistamp Medium/Quiggly Wiggly
Miscellaneous:: note paper from Something Blue kit by Sharon Kenearly from her blog, Staples by Sandra Boddington from her Circus Train Kit.
Inked edge from Scrap Artist's Carefree kit.}

Blueland Memorialized:

_{Credits:Background paper: Robyn England's new Return to My Roots Apprentice kit Available now at Scrapartist,
Staples by Michelle Coleman,
Blue paper strip and denim loop from the Strawberry Kit by Sandra Boddington at Sweet Shoppe Designs,
Film negative from Mo Jackson's Primitive Photography,
Thrasher logo from the internet,
Top hats from Maya's Hatrack,
Wand and orange page by Tia Bennett,
Paper tear by Steph Krush
Font: Another Typewriter/ Book Antiqua}

Bewitching...

_{Decorative edge by Michelle Coleman,
Fonts: Witch/Cathy
bottles from a Halloween website for Fujifilm,
black paper by Shabby Princess from her freebie kit,
Frame by Rhonna Farrer,
Date Stamp from Jenn Star
web doodle by Lisa Whitney}

The Visit to Blueland:

Blueland is the nickname for where the Georgia Thrasher's Hockey team plays at Philip's Arena. Michael's boss had something come up and couldn't use the tickets and he offered them to Michael. We took Aaron and Rachel to the game with us, while Noah and Eve got some Granny Sue time (this is a highly valued thing in our house!). Aaron and Rachel were thrilled to ride on MARTA to get down to the arena. The kids were initially subdued while they took in the sights of the arena. We had awesome seats that were not to far from one of the goals.
The game was played well by both sides. The Ottawa Senators stayed on the offense most of the night and got ahead by 2 at one point, but the Thrasher's came back to win the game. The score should have been 6 to 4, but the official didn't see things the same way. The crowd got to watch the instant replay which showed the goal to be a good one, but the officials don't use the replay to make decisions. If they did the game would probably take forever. Anyway, by the end of the evening the children were hootin and hollerin' for the home team and had thoroughly read the game flyer to learn about the players. Rachel was even complimented by a passing fan on her victory dance skills!



I'll post a layout later. We had such fun!!!!

Family History Rocks!

<sub>These are photos from my husband's family line that have no name listed anywhere and no one knows who they are

Credits: Robyn England's new Return to My Roots Apprentice kit Available now at Scrapartist.

Clock Brush also by Robyn England.

Font: Artistamp Medium</sub>

You can get the elements for this amazing kit at the Scrap Artist Apprentice Challenge Kits at www.scrapartist.com

The kits for the challenge are selling for rock bottom prices this week at $2.00.

I highly recommend grabbing this kit even if you haven't figured out the digital scrapbooking thing yet, because when you do you will find this so useful for creating albums for your family tree.

Remember RUN don't walk!CLICK ME

One of My Nephew's and Check Out Eve's Knees:

_{Background paper: Water Color by Susan Long,
Fall Doodles from Ida at Catscraps,
strip of kraft paper from Sandra Boddington's Paisley Kit at Sweet Shoppe Designs,
Date Stamp Vol. 3 by Katie Pertiet,
Inked Edge by Robin Cabana,
Torn Paper from Fhunglie's Ultimate Torn Paper Pack
Snap Frames by Rhonna Farrer}

::::::::::::::Eve's Knees:::::::::::::




I suppose this cuts Eve out as a future leg model!??!


:::::::::::::::::::Science Rules:::::::::::::

The Science Discover Museum

This is where Noah wants our whole family to go. He was playing www.pbskids.org and on the Curious George page they had some cool videos that included children playing at this museum. He looked back and asked me how far away it was from our house and I said about 3,000 miles. So, Noah asked how much 6 plane tickets would cost. I said it would be pricey, but we would try to go in a few years. Michael said he would put it on our future itinerary.

I Need a Vacation From My Vacation:

I went to Blue Ridge, Georgia with my sisters and step mother this weekend. Rachel and Eve came along, as well as, my sister Tracy's two children. We spent most of the weekend having to chaperone the kids and constantly clean up, just in case my very fastidious aunt, who owned the cabin, might show up. The cabin was lovely and the scenery was beautiful, but I could do with a relaxing trip instead of the one I ended up taking. We stopped by Mercier's Apple Orchard and we loved the freshly made apple cider. Two accomplishments this weekend were reading a book by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones.

and watched the most recent movie adaptation of the book Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
I feel something akin to the desire to gush about the movie Pride and Prejudice. I loved the cinematography, the screen play and the acting! If you have not had the opportunity to view the film by all means take the opportunity.

The The Lovely Bones was extremely well written. The psychology of all the characters involved and their interactions are fleshed out very well. The use of flashbacks throughout the book seems like how I think...disjointed, but still makes sense. The ending is bittersweet and is foreshadowed early in the book. The book reminds me of some of the thoughts I had about "Heaven" and what people think it may be like while I watched the film with Robin Williams called "What Dreams May Come". Both the book and the movie deal with themes of death in horrible ways, but under different circumstances. The character in Sebold's book goes to her "Heaven", while Robin William's wife goes to "Hell" where he goes to rescue her. The Robin William's film is really more about redemption, but I was comparing them more on the basis of how we view the after life.

:::::::::::::::FIELD DAY:::::::::::::

Here are some Field Day photos of Noah:

What's Livin' in Your House?

Michael found a bird nest and a mud dauber nest in the vent in the side of our house where there was a vent that was "closed up" by the previous owners. He had to split the stud because the power cord ran through it, so he could repair the spot. He put in a new stud and patched the spot, then Tyveked the wall.
I was the glorified garbage gal. I caulked for just a bit...until I cut my leg on the flashing above the garage window. I didn't know I had cut my leg until I looked down. The stuff is rather sharp, so it was a nice clean cut.
My dad is taking a 3 day weekend off to go hunting with his nephew, so I will try to do some small stuff like clean up the work site and buy some new crown molding for the eaves and the porch.


::::::::::Eve:::::::::::::::
Looks like a poster child for Band-Aid. She twirls and trips through the garage, yard and work site. She has bruises, cuts and scraps. She cried her self to sleep this afternoon after she tripped on something in the garage and scrapped her knee for the second time in two days. I may have driven up the stock value in the Knee Band-Aids, alone!


:::::::::Noah:::::::::::::

Noah went with me to the grocery store. This is where I discovered one of Noah's bizarre fixations...coupon collecting. There are little plastic coupon holders on various places down each aisle. Noah had a wild gleam in his eye each time he spotted one. Noah explained his enthusiasm by telling me that if their is a coupon that means the item is free. He didn't want to hear about the actual rules in involved in the coupon world.

When I pushed the cart up to the side of the car Noah said, "I'll get these; you can get in the car!" He was serious. Several items were rather heavy so I assisted him, but he was equally as enthusiastic putting groceries in the car as acquiring coupons. When we arrived home he offered to take in the bag that contained his chicken tenders and that was it. Put a fork in him folks...he's done!


::::::::::::::Rachel:::::::::::

Was supposed to have Field Day at school today. I woke her up and reminded her to dress in a sweat suit so she could do all of the days activities and she promptly cried. She said she hated Field Day because she couldn't choose what she wanted to participate in. She also said that she didn't want to cause her class to be disqualified in any of the races. Apparently, her class had done a preliminary sack race and she fell down and out of the sack and her class was disqualified. She also has never liked the school's physical education teacher. He has a jock mentality, which is not surprising for his job. When Aaron was attending public school this same teacher made fun of Aaron for not being able to climb a rope, which caused other kids to chime in with their comments. The weird thing is this man knows my stepfather's family and happens to be friendly with them.
I called Michael to get his thoughts on the subject. He said, "I hated Field Day! She can do what she wants." He spoke to her and told her he appreciated that she was truthful about why she didn't want to participate and didn't fake being ill, so he would support what ever decision she made. I wrote her a "Get Out of Jail" Free Card by writing a note to the teacher that she was unable to participate, sans any explanation because it was really none of their business.
I asked her if she decided to do any of the events and she said no, but she cheered on her friends. I'm glad Michael is around to be an additional sounding board with the kids.


:::::::::::Aaron::::::::::::

Bowling is tomorrow. He has been trying to get out of school work, but that is normal. We are studying Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler right now. I'm always amazed at how people "see" things through mathematics.

Sea Princess:

I always loved to watch Jacque Cousteau shows and imagined swimming with some of the most gentle creatures, sea horses!


_{Scuba helmet by Maya,
leafy sea dragon and lion fish wings created from images from Stockexchange photos,
Shell Crown from Swimming Pixiebelles by Mo Jackson,
Glitter swirl from Birthday Elements, hands and feet are charms by Michelle Coleman,
Background paper from the Monochromatic Challenge by Jackie Eckles,
shells a freebie from Sunfluer,
Long Grass Stamp by Shawna Clingerman,
paper blocks modified from Hope Wallace's Collage Banner,
Soldier Charm by Jen Wilson,
Font: Typeset}

Happy Halloween :)

_{Jen Wilson's Midnight Jack Kit,
Frame by Tia Bennett,
leaves are Fall Doodles by Ida at Catscraps,
Hinges by Paula Duncan,
brown paper from Good Karma by Michelle Coleman and Stitches by Michelle Coleman, too,
date card from Calendar 1 by Misty Mareda,
Spider Doodle from Lisa A. Whitney Scrap Artist Round 4,
Trick or Treat freebie from Shawna Clingerman
Font: Dark Ages/CK Love Life}